The Framed Thief
by Amywxue
Summary: Go to school- check. Do homework- check. Steal a famous jewel- check. Get framed for murder? Oh great. When Kuroba Kaito, or rather, Kaito Kid is framed for murder, things really start getting dangerous. And when Conan's class takes a field trip to Kaito's school, thief and detective will have to work together to solve the puzzle, and not expose their identities to anyone else.
1. Prologue

**Hi everyone! This is only my second story, so please don't criticise me too badly...**

**First of all, I do _not_ hate Kaito or anything. I actually think he's a really awesome character. I only framed him because I thought that it could be interesting. So to all Kaito fans, this is not a story I wrote because I hated him and wanted him to be framed and taken to jail for murder.**

**Secondly, no, there is not going to be any romance. This is purely mystery and suspense (and since I like humour there might be some of that).**

**Hope you like it, and please tell me if I spelt anything wrong or got a character's name wrong etc. Sometimes I tend to type too quickly and press the wrong buttons on the keyboard or miss out letters. I apologise in advance.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed. And any names are purely coincidental. **

**Prologue**

"Inspector! Nakamori-keibu! Over here!"

"What happened?" The brown-haired detective took in the situation. It was a cold night, and he'd gotten an urgent phone call from work. He glanced around again. Whatever happened, it was _not_ a pretty sight. The poor victim had been stabbed in the stomach, then beaten and tied onto the power pole. His face, or what you could make of it through all the blood, was a mask of horror and shock. _Maybe it was someone that looked harmless,_ Ginzo Nakamori mused, absently tugging on his short moustache. _Or he may have known the person that attacked him,_ he added darkly. Betrayal. Treachery. He'd seen too many of those cases.

"Er, Keibu?" The young policeman asked timidly.

"What? Spit it out!" Snapped the detective, who was _not_ known for being calm and patient. The newbie jumped back in shock.

"So…sorry sir!" He stuttered, dropping his notebook. Ginzo sighed, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the unnerved officer to pick up the notebook and find the right page.

"The victim's name is Matthew Joss, age 34. He was a secretary at the local back."

"Any particular known reasons that he would be targeted?"

"No, Sir." Nakamori gazed at the body thoughtfully.

"Weapon?"

"A knife, sir." The detective rolled his eyes.

"Anyone can tell that's done by a knife, but what _kind_?"

"Oh! Yes, sir…" The policeman scrambled wildly through the messily written pages. "Er… it's not a regular knife, sir. The weapon is six inches long and was extremely thin, including the handle, making it easy to conceal. It was discarded beside the body."

"A knife suited for assassination, eh?" Ginzo murmured.

"Oh, and sir?"

"Yes?" The officer licked his lips nervously before replying.

"There… there was a note, sir." Nakamori stared. A note?

"What kind of note?" He asked curiously.

"Well…"

"OH, WILL YOU _SPIT IT OUT_ ALREADY?!"

"It was a note from Kaito Kid, Sir!" Squeaked the terrified man.

"WHAT?! KID?!" he grasped the young police by the collar. "WHAT DID IT SAY?"

With trembling fingers, the officer handed the bewildered detective a note. On it, other than his trademark signature, it simply said:

_Courtesy of Kaito Kid._

**So, that was the prologue. Sorry it's so short. I hate writing short chapters, but I had to put this in. 'Setting the scene' and all that. Sorry about the blood. There won't actually be too much of that. First chapter coming out soon. Please review!**

**Next Chapter: "Eehhh?! I've Been Framed?!"**


	2. Eehhh! I've Been Framed!

**Yup! So this is my first chapter! I would have got it published earlier, but me computer got infected by a virus so for now I have to use my mum's, and her one doesn't have autocheck, so sorry if I spelt stuff wrong. **

**A HUGE thanks to CrossoverxToxThexDarkxSide who was my first reviewer, and to The Magnetic Witch, I hope this chapter will be good enough to keep that interest XD!**

**In this chapter, Kid finds a unlikely helper in the police force. Who is it? Read to find out! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.**

**"Eehhh?! I've been Framed?"**

"…and so, don't forget that the assignment is due by next Friday," the teacher finished, just as the long-awaited bell that signalled the end of the day – and the week – finally rang. "I hope to see you all on Monday," she added, rather loudly, in order to be heard over all the scraping of chairs and the excited chatter as the high-school students filed out of the door.

"So Kaito, what are you doing in the weekends?" Nakamori Aoko asked to dark-haired boy walking next to her.

"Nothing much," Kaito shrugged carelessly. _'She'd flip if I told her that I was gonna steal _Lady Fortune_ tomorrow night."_ He chuckled to himself. Few people knew that he was actually the famous phantom thief, Kaito Kid.

"So, do you wanna go to that new amusement park that opened recently?" though she tried to act like it was not a big deal, her eyes, sparkling with excitement, gave her away. "I heard they have an awesome rollercoaster!" She pulled out some tickets from her bag. "Dad got some free tickets, but everyone else is busy, and I didn't wanna go alone."

"Eh. It's just an amusement park, no need to get so worked up." Kaito casually plucked the tickets from her hand, and ripped them up right in front of Aoko's horrified eyes.

"KUROBA KAITO! HOW _DARE_ YOU!" She shrieked, and Kaito dodged the schoolbag aimed for his head.

"Whoa! Calm down, will ya?" The boy laughed. He gathered up all the ripped pieces, and grinned at the fuming girl. "Watch." Rubbing his palms together, he produced all three tickets, completely unharmed. Aoko immediately snatched them back.

"Geez! Don't _ever_ do that again, you hear me?" she growled, but was unable to hide a small grin.

"Why? Are you jealous cause' I'm a magician, and you're not?" he asked cheekily, then dodged another swing, this time aimed at his shoulder. "Anyways, sorry, but I can't go…"

"But didn't you say that you weren't doing anything?"

"Er, yeah… about that…" he mentally slapped himself for being so careless. One of the main rules for being a magician – and a thief – was to never get cornered by your own lies. Quickly, he spun up a somewhat believable lie. "I promised Jii-chan that I'd help him clean the spare bedroom," Kaito replied smoothly. "It's gonna be really boring, so I forgot about it till now."

Aoko glared at him suspiciously. He gulped. Being Aoko's childhood friend meant that he could almost always guess what she was thinking by reading her expressions. Unfortunately, the same worked vice-versa.

'_Poker face,'_ he reminded himself, and pasted on a expression of boredom and annoyance.

"What?" Kaito demanded, looking back at the girl.

"Nothing," she shrugged. Her expression changed from curiosity to slight sadness.

'_She really wanted to go,'_ he realised. "I'm free next weekend, though," he added. His friend's face immediately brightened up.

"Sure! But promise you'd actually come, alright?" Aoko said seriously. "And… just be careful, okay? Don't get hurt to get out of going," she added. He rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I'll go already!"

"See you later then!" She waved, then walked off, probably to get some shopping done. Kaito stared at her retreating back thoughtfully. She'd said the last part jokingly, but there was something behind the light words as well. Sometimes he got the felling that she guessed that he actually _was_ Kid, like that time when she'd forced him to go on a date with her, when he was due to be stealing elsewhere. Then he shook his head, dismissing the thought. For now.

* * *

Looking down at the sparkling city lights, Kid smiled. Night views always looked best in a high place. His grin grew wider as he saw all the flashing sirens scattered around the museum building. Then he frowned. _'Is is just me, or is there WAY more police than usual?' _No time to dwell on it now. He lept down, the white cape he wore swiftly changing into his hang-glider. Immediately, shouts of "He's appeared!" and "It's Kid!" sounded. But something was off. As he drew closer, his eyes widened. The police were carrying guns! Every one of them! And some, indeed, were positioned to shoot. _'What's going on?'_

"ATTENTION KAITO KID!" barked the commander's magnified voice. "THIS IS DETECTIVE NAKAMORI! THE POLICE FORCES REQUEST THAT YOU SURRENDER _NOW_ AND HAND YOURSELF IN QUIETLY! YOU ARE NOW WANTED FOR STEALING PRICELESS ARTEFACTS AND MURDER!"

Kaito almost fell out of the air in shock. Murder? _Him?_ Ok, he was a thief, he admitted that. But murder? _Defenitely _not his style. Usually he would just steal the jewel and leave, but this was getting a _bit_ too serious. He landed a fair distance away from the armed police, and leaned against the wall of the museum.

"What's up, commander?" he teased. Then his voice turned more serious as he added, "And what's this I hear about murder?"

* * *

"What's up, commander?"

Hearing the familiar taunts made Nakamori think. He wasn't at all fond of the troublemaker, but he _had_ chased him ever since he first appeared. Could Kid - _Kid?_ - really have done all that? After all, judging from his voice (if it was even his actual voice - he always used it, so he _thought_ it was) and what you could make of his face, he was just a kid, no older than 17 at the most. _'Kid the kid,' _he thought drily.

"And what's this I hear about murder?"

Nakamori frowned. You could never tell with Kid, but this time his voice souded serious.

"You know what I mean, Kid," he replied to the arrogant thief. "We know you did it. You were the one that killed Matthew Joss?"

"I _don't_ know what you mean, I _don't_ know _what_ you think I did, and who the heck is Matthew Joss?"

The detective hesitated. Somehow, Kid just didn't sound like he was lying.

"We have proof, Kid," a cold voice replied from beside Nakamori. He spun around, and saw Naizen William, the officer that had just recently been assigned to the case of Kid. The man was highly ranked among the police, and rumor was that he's incredibly rich. "We have your notice card right here." He threw a copy of the card to the phantom thief. Nakamori watched as Kid picked it up, and saw the Kaito's eyes widen as he read he works. Folded behind the card was a photo taken from the crime scene. Kid's face paled as he saw it. He glanced up, and shook his head.

"That wasn't me," he said plainly.

William adjusted his glasses. "What do you mean? The proof is right there." He spoke to the thief as if he was a stubborn 5 year old insisting that he never broke that toy. William smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I said," Kid sighed with a bit of his arrogance returning, "It _wasn't_ me. Do you need me to repeat it again? Shall I write it down on the photo for you, with a signature?"

"I have no time for your jokes," William hissed. He jestured to the police. "Fire!"

"Oops, I'm not really a fan for getting shot at," Kid laughed, just as the first shots rang out. Tilting his hat, he threw something onto the ground.

"It's a smokebomb!"

"Someone clear the smoke!"

"Ouch! That's my leg you're standing on there, idiot!"

Through all the confusion, Nakamori somehow stumbled to a clear patch with no smoke. And there, standing in front of him, was Kid.

"Not gonna leave?" He sneered.

The thief nodded. "Just about to," He replied casually, as if they were two old friends chatting, rather than thief and detective. Then he looked at the commander seriously. "But commander, I swear on Kaito Kid's name, I was _not_ the on that did it. I'm a thief, not a murderer. Since I have never once _actually _harmed any of your officers, you know I'm telling the truth, right?"

Nakamori had to agree. Sure, Kid had done stuff like put them to sleep and occasionally knocking them out, but no serious harm had ever happened. The thief's voice was genuine, and, for the first time since he's met the Kaito, his voice cointained the _slightest_ trace of urgency. That, more than anything, convinced him. He nodded curtly. This time, Kid wasn't the bad guy.

"Who's that glasses guy?" Kid asked suddenly.

"Him? Naizen William, just joined the hunt for you."

"Wow. I wasn't actually expecting an answer from you, but... okay..."

The detective snorted. "And don't expect it again, Kid. This is only because, even though you're a thief, you've still been framed. It's the police's job to clean things up."

"If you say so, commander."

"Remember, this truce is only temporary."

"You got it." And with a *poof*, the Kaito had gone. Where he stood was a small piece of paper. On it was a phone number.

* * *

*Yawn~*

"What's up, Kaito? Why do you look so tired?" Aoko asked.

_'Ugh. I was searching the entire Sunday for some info on that William guy, but all I got is his name!'_ Kaito fumed to himself. _'Makes him all the more suspicious...'_

"Oh, nothing. Practicing another magic trick."

"Are you sure?"

"Geez, Aoko, you're sounding like an old grandma!"

"Oh, so _that's_ the thanks I get for worrying about you?" Aoko growled, swing her schoolbag at him again. In the end, Kaito got chased all the way to class.

"Ok everyone, I should have told you this earlier, but a class from Teitan Elementary will be coming to stay in our classroom today and maybe tommorow. I want you to be nice to the little kids, and NO teasing them in any way. And that includes _over-dramatic_ magic tricks, Kuroba-kun." The teacher gave Kaito a _look_.

"Understood," he grinned. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Looks like they're here!" The teacher opened the door, had a few words with someone on the other side, and gestured for them to come in. A group of kids filed in, looking either excited or nervous. Kaito yawned, bored. Having to be in the same classroom as a group of 7 year olds? _Not_ his idea for fun. Then he saw the last kid what walked in, and almost choked in surprise.

_'Oh great. Another detective on the verge of finding out my seceret identity. This week just gets better and better.'_

For indeed, wearing his usual glasses and bow-tie, was one of Kaito Kid's most dangerous enemys, Edogawa Conan.

**Haha, so that was my first chapter (minus the prologue). And yes, before people start complaining, I know that Kaito wouldn't usually go all 'urgent', but if someone just tried to shoot you, and you're wanted for murder, you'd be pretty panicked, right?**

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review! :D Reviews really inspire me. Thanks!**

**Next chaper: "Detective Alert!"**


	3. Detective Alert

**So here it is, everyone! Hope you like it. Another big thank you to everyone that reviewed. School holidays now, so I'll be able to spend more time working on my stories. The next chapter will be longer. **

**Disclaimer - I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.**

**Detective Alert**

"Okay, since these children will be staying with us for a while, I want you all to introduce yourselves, ant tell them one of your hobbies." She glanced around the silent room. "Who wants to start?" The teacher's glance changed to a glare, and many of the students cringed and shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, but remained quiet. "_Anyone?_"

"What a bunch of scaredy-cats," Aoko muttered. She stood up, smiling at the nervous kids up the front. "Hi! I'm Nakamori Aoko. My hobby… well, I wouldn't actually call it a hobby, but I'm a little interested in detective work, I guess." Several of the kids beamed at her, looking excited. Aoko smiled again, and then sat down, at the same time giving Kaito a _look_. He gave her a _look_ back, but then _she_ gave _him_ another _look_. Realising that this was a hopeless battle that he was bound to lose (he had to admit that Aoko delivered much harsher _looks_ than him) he sighed, and stood up.

"Hiya! I'm Kuroba Kaito, your local magician." He pulled out a rose, seemingly out of thin air, and winked at his astounded little audiences. "My hobby should be obvious." The kids began to laugh and cheer, and Kaito gave a little bow before returning to his seat. As the rest of the introductions droned on (none of them as memorable as Kaito's), he risked a glance at the mini-detective. He'd been careful to choose a simple trick that anyone should be able to do, with practice, and even went as far as making the trick obvious (he was still disgusted with himself for actually purposely – _purposely!_ – betraying the trick), but he could only hope that it had been enough to fool his rival into thinking he was just a normal magician. He was definitely cutting it close. After all, the kid wasn't stupid. After all, as Kid, he _had_ helped him before, and, despite his disguise, the boy _did_ catch a few looks at his face… _'Please don't make him come any closer,'_ Kaito silently begged. _'Otherwise, I'm doomed!'_

* * *

As the last high-school student finally finished his introduction, the teacher in charge of the elementary students clapped her hand once to get their attention. "Alright everyone, since these onii-sans and onee-chans were so nice as to introduce themselves to us, how about we do the same?"

"Aw, do we have to?" One of the boys moaned loudly. "I'm hungry already!" Kaito sweat-dropped. It was only half past nine!

The teacher seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Genta-kun, you should know by now that it's _far_ too early for lunch. Since you complained, how about you start us off?"

"Okay Sensei," the boy sighed. "I'm Kojima Genta, and my hobby is eating eels!" The senior students laughed, and Genta smiled sheepishly. Kaito, on the other hand, almost hurled. Aoko grinned at him slyly.

'_Fish,'_ Kaito thought with disgust. _'Why do kids nowadays like _fish_?'_ And immediately after that, _'Kids nowadays? Great, now I sound like an old grandpa.'_

"My name is Yoshida Ayumi!" A girl said cheerfully.

"And I'm Tsubaraya Mitsuhiko," another skinny-looking boy added.

"Together, we're the Detective Boys!" Genta finished.

"Wait, Genta-kun!" Ayumi cried. "You're forgetting Ai-chan and Conan-kun!"

"The Detective Boys aren't complete without everyone," Mitsuhiko nodded.

"I knew that," Genta snapped.

"Come on, Ai-chan! Introduce yourself!" Ayumi encouraged the brown-haired girl standing next to her.

"Oh. My name is Haibara Ai." The girl said in a monotone, and fell silent again.

'_What a cold kid,'_ Kaito sweat-dropped.

"Go on, Conan-kun!" Mitsuhiko told Detective Junior.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." He smiled at the class in a childish way. Anyone would think that he was a normal seven-year-old kid. Even Kaito would have been fooled, if he hadn't known him. "I'm Edogawa Conan."

"AND TOGETHER, WE'RE THE DETECTIVE BOYS!" Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi said together, each striking a hero pose with Genta in the middle.

"If you have any problems…"

"Like if you lost anything…"

"Or if you see anyone suspicious…"

"Hey Conan, say your bit!" Genta nudged the shorter boy.

"Oh! Uh…" Conan pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, and quickly scanned through it. "Um…lets see…oh, here it is." He cleared his throat. "No problem is too big or small for the Detective Boys," He finished with a sigh.

"That won't do, Conan-kun!" Ayumi chided. "You have to put more emotion into it!"

"How come Haibara doesn't have to do it?" Conan complained.

"Pass," the girl named Haibara replied immediately.

'_Oi, oi,'_ Kaito sweat-dropped. _'They seriously don't know they have a _real_ detective with them, do they?'_

"Now, now, guys," their teacher sighed, as if she was used to this. "Remember to be polite."

"Yes, Sensei!"

* * *

"Now that the introductions are finished," Kaito's teacher announced, "We will have to work out seating arrangements for the next few days." She glared across the room again. "I will be assigning one of them to each of you. And I expect you to show them around, and look after them while they're here. Is that understood?"

Several half-hearted groans sounded throughout the room. The teacher glared some more. "I _said_, is that UNDERSTOOD!?"

"YES!"

"Good. Now, let's see…"

One by one, the group standing at the front grew smaller and smaller. Finally, the only ones left were the 'Detective Boys'.

"Mitsushiko-kun, why don't you go sit next to Kyo-kun?" Kyo smiled and waved, gesturing to the empty chair next to his desk.

"Genta-kun, you can go with Tezuka-kun over there." Tezuka was quite a large teen (much like Genta himself, other than the fact that Genta was still a child), who always somehow manages to smuggle in some form of food into the classroom. He's done it so many times now, regardless of what anyone says, that even the teacher gave up putting him in detentions, and just lets him eat, as long as he still concentrates on his work. Today it was potato chips, which he offered to a delighted Genta.

"So that's what all the empty chairs were for," Kaito muttered. Indeed, there had been an extra chair next to every desk this morning. Aoko nodded, only half listening, craning her head to see (well, they _were_ quite short) who was left.

"Ai-chan…" Kaito noticed Conan snigger a little when the girl's name was called, for some reason, "I think you'll get along great with Hime-chan over there." Hime, or, as she preferred to be called, Hime-_sama_, was the richest girl in Kiato's school. And, as her name suggested, she was a spoilt little princess. She refused to speak with anyone whose parents weren't in the 'Big Jobs', as she called them, other than the occasional "Get out of my _way_,". As expected, she immediately turned her nose up at the girl approaching her. Haibara ignored her right back. The two sat in silence, and the whole class sweat-dropped.

"Ayumi-chan! Why don't you go with Aoko-chan?" Ayumi walked up to the desk of the older girl, and smiled up from her seat shyly. Aoko smiled back.

"And as for Conan-kun…" Kaito tried to make himself look as small and insignificant as possible (which was a new experience for him, to say the least – he was usually the one that got the most attention, in school or out). _'Please don't be me…please don't be me…'_

"…I'm sure that you won't be bored with Kuroba-kun!" Kaito groaned inwardly, and forced a smile (at least, he _hoped_ it looked like a smile rather than a grimace) onto his features as the Tantei made his way to his desk.

"Nice to meet you, Kaito-niisan," the boy smiled innocently, but Kaito, through experience, could see that underneath the childish mask, the detective's mind was carefully observing him. He's already seen him do the same to all of his other classmates.

"Nice to meet you too, Conan-kun."

**Hope you liked it! Please review! Feel free to tell me about anything that I should change or fix up. Thanks for reading!**

**Next Chapter - The Detective Boys**


	4. The Detective Boys

**So...new chapter! Sorry about the delay... By the way, in my story Kaito doesn't know that Conan is Shinichi. He just knows that he's a good detective, but not _the_ famous high-school detective. You know what I mean.**

**Disclaimer - I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.**

**The Detective Boys**

"So, would you like a tour of the school?" Aoko suggested. It was lunch time, and everyone was outside, enjoying the summer sun. All the Detective Boys were standing together, dragging along an unwilling Hime. Kaito had, fortunately, had an uneventful morning. He hadn't done anything particularly spectacular, which surprised many of his classmates. Little did they know the real reason for his quietness. After all, he did have the mini-detective that got the closest to ever catching him seated right next to his desk.

"Why do I have to be stuck with a bunch of _nobody's _like _you_?" Hime complained, snapping Kaito back into the present. "I don't wanna be seen with a bunch of _losers_."

"What do you mean, losers?" Aoko snapped, instantly firing up. "I'm the daughter of a Inspector, and Kaito is the son of a magician, thank you _very_ much!" Hime snorted.

"Magicians, police..." She rolled her eyes. "Who needs them? They're just like these kids. _Useless_."

"Hey, wait a minute, lady!" Genta shouted. "Did you just call us useless? We've solved many cases, you know!"

"Genta-kun, it's best you keep out of this," Mitsuhiko whispered.

"But Genta-kun is right!" Ayumi retorted indignantly. "We've helped the police many times!"

"Weren't you _listening_, kid?" Hime flicked her blonde hair out of her eyes with a smirk. "Police are all useless." Aoko and Hime proceeded to stare daggers at rach other. Kaito and Conan sweat-dropped nervously. _This could get violent..._

"So..." Kaito began, trying to ignore the atmosphere, "Would you like a tour of the school?"

"Er... sure! Thanks, Kaito-niisan!" Conan smiled. _Anything to get out of this situation..._

"Aoko! Our friends would like a tour of the school!" Kaito called, much louder than necessary. But then, you had to be loud to be heard over the insults shot between the two.

"Know it all!"

"Smarty pants!"

"Hgh-and-mighty!"

"Little miss nobody!"

"Flightless peacock!"

"Annoying little insect!"

"Miss Fragile!"

"What do you mean by that!?"

"Betya couldn't even lift up a chair!"

"Oh, I can _so_ lift up a chair!"

"Prove it then!"

Hime smirked. "Rough work is made for rough, unladylike people!"

"Who're you calling unladylike!"

"Take your best guess, _Miss-I'm-a-Inspector's-Daughter_!"

"Aoko! We're supposed to be showing them around the school!" Kaito broke in before Aoko could retort back.

"Huh?" She looked at the silent children. "Oh, sorry!" She glared at Hime. "Let's just ignore the spoilt little princess here. Come on, I'll show you around."

"What?! I _refuse_ to walk around with the likes of _you_!" Hime snapped.

"Stay there and get told off by the teacher then," Aoko called back. "I couldn't care less." They turned the corner, and left a cursing Hime to hurry after them.

* * *

"So, that's about it for the outside," Aoko concluded. All they'd really done was walk around the school. There wasn't much to see to begin with. "Should we find somewhere nice to have lunch?"

"Sure!" The group replied energetically. They had to bring their own packed lunch for today.

"What did you bring, Ayumi-chan?" Mitsuhiko asked. Ayumi grinned and opened her obento.

"Rice and omelets!" She announced happily.

"Eh...lucky," Mitsuhiko sighed. "I got rice, chicken and _carrots_."

"Sheesh. What boring lunches you guys packed," Genta huffed.

"What did you bring then, Genta-kun?"

"Tada!" Genta opened the lid to reveal... "Cooked eels!" Kaito immediately ran about ten paces away. Aoko saw this, and burst into fits of hysterical laughter.

"Kaito-niisan? Are you okay?" Ayumi asked worriedly. Kaito shook his head furiously, covering his mouth with a hand while drawing back a few more steps.

"I fage gish!" He attempted to shout while still covering his mouth.

"What was that?" Genta walked closer to hear better, and Kaito drew back even more. Aoko laughed even harder, clutching her sides. She tried to talk, but all that came out was a "Fuuuuuuuuu," before collapsing back into laughter. By now, she was almost crying.

"Genta, I think he said 'I hate fish'," Conan interpreted, chuckling.

"Huh? I can't hear you over all the laughing! Did you say he loved fish? Sweet!" He ran up to Kaito, who ran in the opposite direction. Aoko was now literally on the ground, she was laughing so hard.

"ING ELLING GOU I ONT IKE ISH!" Kaito yelled, but the words would've been lost in the wind, even if he _wasn't_ covering his mouth.

"WHAT? DID YOU SAY THAT YOU WANTED TO TRY SOME OF THIS FISH? SURE, BUT STOP RUNNING! I'M GETTING TIRED!" Genta screamed back. And that was how the legendary Kaito Kid spent his first lunchtime the day that Conan's class came to visit. Conan and his other friends had a great time, eating their lunch and watching the teen magician getting chased by a chubby boy offering him some eel.

**So, that was it, folks! Hope you liked it. Before you complain, I do realize that Genta wouldn't run so much. But they weren't actually going that fast. Sorry, short chapter. Been really busy at school. I wrote this to get me back in the mood of this story. I'll try to update soon. Please review!  
**

**Next chapter - Meet My Dad.  
**


	5. Meet My Dad

**Hi again everyone! New chapter finally up! ****Hope you like it! And I haven't been watching Detective Conan for a while, so sorry for any OOC-ness. I DO try to keep them in character.**

**P.S try to spot the similarities in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer – I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.**

**Meet My Dad**

At long last, the bell that signaled the end of the long school day went off.

"Thank GOD!" Kaito threw his hands into the air dramatically. "The day is OVER!"

"It wasn't that bad, Kaito," Aoko chided.

"Says the one that wasn't chased by an elementary school student holding an obento full of your least favourite food _ever_," Kaito glared at her.

"It wasn't my fault that you didn't say things clearly," Genta huffed.

"What should we do now, Conan-kun?" Ayumi tugged on the boy detective's sleeve.

"Eh?" Conan shrugged. "I dunno. Why are you asking me?"

"Because Conan-kun always knows what to do!" Ayumi smiled. Conan felt a chill down his spine, and turning his head around 95 degrees, found the source.

"Well, why don't we ask Genta?" He suggested, and felt a wave of relief as the stares from Genta and Mitsuhiko subsided. Just at that moment, a phone went off, and everyone jumped.

"Ah! Sorry, it's mine…" Aoko pulled her phone out of her bag. "It's from dad!" She said with surprise. She held the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"

"AOKO!? IS THAT AOKO OVER THERE?!" Everyone winced and covered their ears. Aoko held the receiver a foot away, also covering her ears.

"OTOU-SAN! Geez, you don't have to shout! What is it? Uh huh… yeah… EH? You're coming over here to pick us up? Why? What? You're going to the Mouri Detective Agency?" Conan blinked. "Why? Tell me! … Fine, hurry up." And with that, she hung up.

"Why's he going to the Mouri Detective Agency?" Kaito asked her. Aoko shrugged.

"Beats me. He just told me to wait here, cause he's coming this way anyways."

"Well, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a few extra visitors," Kaito grinned evily.

"Do you five wanna come along?" Aoko asked the Detective Boys.

"If you don't mind," Mitsuhiko replied shyly.

"I'll pass," Haibara replied. "I don't mind walking."

"Are you sure? Aoko looked a little worried. Haibara nodded. "OK then, if you insist…"

"Any idea why your old man would wanna go to the 'Sleeping Detective's' place?" Kaito asked Aoko, who shook her head slowly.

"You know what he's like… he's only interested in Kaito Kid cases. My best guess would be that he got another warning letter from Kid," Aoko replied.

_Eh? _Conan smirked. _So her dad's the guy that's always at the Kid scenes, screaming that he'd catch Kid next time, huh?_

Kaito, on the other hand, frowned. _That's weird… I haven't sent out any warning notices at all! And Jii-chan wouldn't do it without telling me… besides, there's nothing to steal. But Aoko's right – Nakamori-keibu is only interested in my cases. It's what he's been assigned to. So why…_ He shook his head, for once lost for words.

"Gah! Crazy driver headed this way!" Genta yelled. There was a screech of tires, and a white car stopped right in front of them. _Right in front_. If Mitsuhiko hadn't moved fast, he would've been run over.

"Dad!" Aoko groaned, seeing the 'Crazy Driver'. "There is such thing as a speed limit, you know! That ain't a racing car!"

"No time to lose, Aoko!" Ginzo Nakamori replied briskly. He frowned. "Who are those kids?"

"They're friends of ours," Aoko replied curtly. "And they need a ride. They'll be coming with us."

"But we're in a hurry!" Nakamori protested.

"DAD! You almost ran them over! Besides, they live in the area anyways, and by the looks of it, they're closely acquainted with the Sleeping Detective."

"Really?" Nakamori stared hard at the children.

"Um…yes!" Conan smiled, sweat-dropping. "I'm Edogawa Conan, and I currently live with Uncle Kogoro." Kaito snorted at Conan's childish face and tone. He still remembered the first time he met the boy detective, on the roof. He'd been the only one that deciphered his warning card. On that day, if anything, Conan had made this clear – _this was no normal boy_. He'd put on the childish act that day too, and even Kaito had almost been fooled by the act. As it happens, Nakamori had just fallen into the trap too.

"Well, okay then…"

"Wow! Thanks a lot, Uncle Nakamori!" Conan smiled again. Kaito grinned. _He really is good…_

* * *

"So, this is the office of the famous Mouri Kogoro?" Aoko and Nakamori stared up at the office in awe.

"Yup... don't expect too much though, it's not as grand as you might think..." Conan walked up the stairs. The other kids had been dropped of at various homes, and Conan was now the only one left. Pushing up the door, he called, "I'm back!"

A female voice replied, "Ah, Conan-kun! Welcome back!" Mouri Ran poked her head around the door. She frowned slightly as she caught sight of the visitors, then the confused look changed to a smile. "Customers?" she guessed.

"Yup, they're from the police."

"EH?" Conan had already slid past her, and was now shaking the famous 'Sleeping Detective', who was, indeed, sleeping on his desk.

"Uncle! Hey Uncle, you have customers!" A loud snore greeted the child's call. "Uncle! UNCLE!" Another snore. Conan sighed, then said, "Yoko-san's here!"

"WHAT? YOKO-CHAN? WHERE'S YOKO-CHAN?" All three visitors sweat-dropped.

* * *

"Ah, please excuse me. Nice to meet you, I'm Mouri Kogoro."

"Nakamori Ginzo. It's a pleasure to meet you." The two men hands. They were now seated on the twin couches, and Ran had brought some coffee for the adults, and cold drinks for the teens and child. "This is my daughter, Aoko-"

"Nice to meet you!"

"-and this annoying kid is Kuroba Kaito."

"HEY!"

"DAD!"

Kogoro nodded. "This is my daughter, Ran-"

"Pleasure to meet you!"

"-and this annoying brat who has been freeloading off us for the past year is Edogawa Conan."

"HEY!" Kaito and Conan both wore identical annoyed expressions on their faces.

"OTOU-SAN!" Aoko and Ran both wore identical indignant expressions on their faces.

"Alright, alright, no need to get so worked up," Nakamori and Kogoro grumbled at the same time, both rolling their eyes.

* * *

"So, may I ask what a inspector came here for?" Kogoro asked.

"Well... it's about a case." Nakamori lowered his voice, glancing pointedly at the teens (and child) in the room. "About 1412." All the ears in the room instantly pricked up.

"All you kids, get out of here," Kogoro grunted. Protests immediately sounded, but Kogoro threatened to literally throw them out is they didn't co-operate, so the four younger teens (plus child) grudgingly trudged out.

"AH! It's already this late?" Ran gasped, looking at her watch. "I need to go to the store to buy dinner!"

"I can come and help, if you like," Aoko offered.

"Thanks," Ran replied gratefully. One could always use extra help when shopping. The two girls walked off, chattering.

"Girls," Kaito and Conan huffed as one.

* * *

Kaito sighed. Getting stuck with one of Japan's smartest detectives wasn't exactly his idea of fun. Especially since he's the older one, he was supposed to look after the child. Usually he'd entertain kids with a magic trick, but with _this_ particular kid, he couldn't risk it. Conan also looked bored out of his mind.

"Ne, Kaito-niisan," the boy suddenly spoke. Kaito put on the best poker face he could manage in the current situation.

"Yeah?"

"You're bored, aren't you?"

"Uh huh." Kaito admitted.

"You're interested in what they're saying, aren't you?"

"Yeah...?" Conan tilted his head to one side, and a cheeky smile that reminded Kaito of himself spread over the boy's face. The type of smile that he would make just before doing something that he wasn't supposed to do. Stealing treasured artifacts, for example.

"Would you like to listen?" Kaito grinned his own cheeky grin.

"I like the way you think, kid."

* * *

"These are two of my friend's inventions," Conan explained, showing Kaito the small listening device concealed in the chewed up gum which had been safely kept in his bag. "Listening device and super-stick gum."

"Super-sticky gum?"

"It's supposed to be really sticky when 'H20' is added to it, as he put it," Conan rolled his eyes. He'd wet the gum with tap water before, just for fun, but he never expected it to actually come in useful so soon. "If you could throw it up there, onto the windowsill, we should be able to hear every word they say from this obento box..." He pulled out a normal-looking obento box.

"Obento box?"

"It used to be a obento-shaped communication device, but then my friend upgraded it," Conan explained.

"Pretty...uh...interesting friend you got there. Obento box communication device. Who would've thought." Kaito raised an eyebrow.

"I know I wouldn't," Conan agreed.

* * *

"What?! Kid's been convicted for murder?!"

"Shh! Please don't be so loud, Mouri-san!"

"Ah, sorry...but you don't believe that?" A pause.

"No. He told me he wasn't, and honestly, I just don't see Kid as a murderer."

"And he gave you his number?"

"Yes."

"And you want me to help you find the real murderer?"

"Yes. Not that I care about the troublemaker-" Kaito snorted "-but it's the right thing to do. Even of the guy's a thief, stealing and killing are just two separate things." A pause.

"I see your point, Nakamori-san."

"And...?"

"I believe that you are right. I will assist in this case as much as I can."

Back down on ground level, Kaito and Conan unconsciously exchanged dark looks. Kaito sighed. This was getting more bothersome by the minute...

**Sorry if it sounded weird, but I didn't know how else I can write this chapter, so I'll just leave it at that.**** Please review!  
**


	6. Mask

**Yay, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. I, uh... got kidnapped by aliens! Yeah, that's it! *cough cough*. Aaaanyways, hope this chapter isn't too bad...**

**Disclaimer - I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.**

"Kid, wanted for murder?"

Kaito looked down at the mini detective and started. The boy had a calculating look on his face that defenitely didn't belong on a elementary school student.

"What do you think?" Kaito said at last.

"Impossible," Conan announced. "Kid's a thief, not a murderer."

"How do you know?" Kaito asked slyly, hoping to trip the boy up into admitting that he was much more than your average seven year old.

"I saw it on the news," Conan replied smoothly, not missing a beat. _Gods, I'm getting _way_ to used to lying like this..._

"Really?" Kaito commented. "What about the detective up there?"

Conan snorted. "Please. He watches nothing except horseracing and 'Yoko-chan' on TV."

_Is that so?_ Kaito sighed tiredly. _Hope he doesn't change his mind half way through and decide that I'm the killer then._

"Kaito-niisan?" Kaito became aware of someone tugging on his sleeve. "Are you OK?" Conan asked with an spectacular display of childish concern. Kaito couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"I'm fine, Conan-kun," Kaito smiled down at the worried boy.

"No, you're not," Conan deadpanned, surprising the thief. "I can tell. You have bags under your eyes, your voice is lower and you're movements are getting slouchy. All those point to the truth - you're lacking sleep."

Kaito's realized that his mouth was hanging open a little, and hastily shut it. _He'd just deduced that in, like, five seconds! _He looked at the innocent looking child. _Heck, he really is good._

"Or at least, that's what Mouri-ojisan always says!" Conan added, aruptly changing his serious face to a cheerful smile.

Kaito almost fell over.

_No, he's lying,_ Kaito decided. Only someone extremely observant could notice all those tiny details - and Kaito had practiced his poker face for _years_. Someone like a _real detective_.

_Who exactly are you, Edogawa Conan? _Kaito wondered.

"Thanks for your concern, Conan-kun," he said, carefully replacing his poker face, "But it's nothing. Just some exams on the way - stress and all that. Anyways," Kaito smiled, "I think they're finished. Why don't we go back in?"

* * *

Soon after, Ran and Aoko returned from shopping.

"Finished?" Ran asked brightly. The two detectives were exchanging stories about their cases and ignored them. Ran sighed.

"Why don't you have dinner here, Aoko-chan?" she said to the other girl.

"Is it OK?" Aoko asked doubtfully.

"That's an excellent idea!" Kogoro exclaimed. "What do you say, Nakamori-san?"

"If it won't trouble you too much," Ginzo replied.

"Yosh! It's decided!" Kogoro announced, looking around. "Where'd the little brat go?"

"Otou-san!" Ran warned.

"Right here!" a childish voice called from Conan's room.

Ran opened the door to find Conan and Kaito pouring over some puzzle books.

"But if three down is 'stratosphere', four across wouldn't fit!" Kaito argued.

"Kaito-niisan, there's no 'i' in 'stratosphere'."

"Oh! I thought 'straitosphere' looked a little weird," Kaito said sheepishly, rubbing the pencil out. "So four across is 'contingency' like you said after all..."

"What are you two doing?" Ran asked, peeking at the book. Her eyes widened as she saw the length of the words they were filling in. There wasn't a word bank either. _How_ the seven year old can think of such a word was well beyond her.

"Conan-kun can do all this?" Aoko asked, equally surprised as she looked over Ran's shoulder.

"Kaito-niisan's doing most of it!" Conan said hurriedly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Kaito stuttered. In fact, Conan had almost done as much as he had, if not more. From what Kaito had figured out so far, the elementary school kid had the intellect of a high school student. His knowledge was also well beyond his years. While other kids would have trouble remembering their nine times tables, Kaito was pretty sure that Conan could work out stuff like 'What is the value of pi?' without breaking a sweat.

"Nice to see you two getting along," Ran smiled. Conan smiled back as Ran closed the door behind her. "Oh! Kaito-kun, Nakamori-san and Aoko-can will be staying for dinner."

"I am?" Kaito blinked.

"OK!" Conan smiled some more as the door clicked shut. The small detective let out a sigh of relief.

"You were acting," Kaito said aruptly. It wasn't a question.

"W-what are you talking about?" Conan laughed - a fake, childish laugh.

"You can cut the act in front of me, you know," the older teen tilted his head.

"Like I said, I don't know-" Conan began.

"Yes, you _do_ know what I'm talking about," Kaito persisted. "What kind of a normal elementary school student can spell 'stratosphere' or 'contingency' from the top of their head? Or solve high school level math equations?" _  
_

"Um..."

"They _can't_," Kaito answered for him. He sat back with his arms folded, waiting.

Conan gave a exaggerated sigh.

"Fine, you win," he grumbled. Kaito grinned. Now _this_ was the Edogawa Conan that he was used to. It really was like removing a mask - the mask of a child, to hide the more serious, mature face underneath. The _real_ Edogawa Conan.

"Just...don't tell anyone about this, OK?" Conan begged.

"Hmmm, I dunno..." Kaito teased.

"I'll make you eat fish," Conan warned.

"You wouldn't _dare_," Kaito said, his face a shade paler.

"Wanna bet?" Conan asked slyly. Before Kaito could react, Conan replaced the childish mask and shouted, "RAN-NEECHAN! KAITO-NIISAN SAID THAT HE WANTED TO HAVE FISH FOR DINNER!"

"Eh? Kaito-kun, you want to have fish for dinner?" Ran asked, poking her head through the door.

"No, no, I wouldn't want to trouble you," Kaito replied immediately. 'We were just playing around."

"Oh, Ok then. Are you sure?"

"Positive!" Kaito squeaked. He glared as he heard Aoko's laughter in the other room.

"OK..." Ran left again.

Conan mentally removed the mask, smirking.

"I'll get you back for that someday," Kaito grumbled.

"Sure, sure," Conan rolled his eyes. "By the way, how did you know I was pretending?"

Kaito shrugged. "I'm a magician, remember? A magician always had to keep a 'poker face' while performing. I think I can tell when I see one."

"It wasn't _too_ obvious, was it?" Conan looked at him suddenly.

"Nope - gotta say, you're pretty good," Kaito admitted. Curiously, the 'young' boy let out a relieved breath. "Why?"

"What, you're allowed to keep secrets and I'm not?" Conan countered. He had him there.

"Fine, I'll let it go, just this once. Whatd'ya reckon seven across is?"

* * *

"So, Nakamori-san is in charge of all the Kid heist cases?" Ran asked, finishing the last of her rice.

"Yup! That's my dad!" Aoko smiled proudly. Conan noticed that Kaito twitched a little at this topic.

They had just about finished dinner, and were now discussing random subjects.

"Eh, that's nice..." Ran sighed, sending a look at her father, who shivered and looked around at everywhere but his daughter.

"What about you, Kaito-kun?"

"Me? I'm into magic," he replied, draining his juice.

"Magic-obsessed," Aoko murmured under her breath.

"HEY! I heard that!"

"What about your parents?" Ran asked.

"My dad, he, well, kinda died during a performance..." he said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ran gasped, covering her mouth.

"It's fine," Kaito assured her. "He was a brilliant magician. And as for my mum, she's overseas."

"Overseas, huh?" Kogoro took a drink of his beer. "Reminds me of someone..."

"You mean Shinichi?" Ran fumed. "That Case-obsessed baka..."

Conan sweatdropped. _Well, _sorry_ for being case-obeseed..._

"Shinichi?" Kaito paused. "_Kudo _Shinichi?"

"Yeah!" Ran looked at him, surprised. "Do you know him?"

"Only saw him on TV," Kaito replied. "Do _you_ know him?"_  
_

"He's her dream boyfriend," Mouri scowled. "That detective brat..." Ran blushed fiercely.

"Is not!" Ran protested. 'We're just childhood friends!"

"You're friends with Kudo Shinichi!?" Aoko and Nakamori both gasped, eyes as wide as saucers.

"Yeah...?"

"Can you contact him?" Nakamori said urgently. "We've...well, there's a bit of trouble with a case... nothin' I can't handle myself of course, but..."

"Sorry," Ran looked down, fingering the pink phone in her hand. "I can contact him, but he won't come. He's always too busy with one case or another."

Aoko and Nakamori both wore dejected expressions on their faces.

"I can still contact him though!" Ran added. Their faces brightened.

"That'll be a great help," Aoko said gratefully.

For unknown reasons, Conan suddenly began to get edgy.

"Ran-neechan, can I go to the bathroom?" he burst out. Ran looked at him with surprise.

"Um, sure, I guess..."

Conan hurriedly left the table. _Hmm..._

"That baka!" Ran exclaimed. "He's not answering!"

At that moment, Conan came back into the room. Where did he go? That was _way_ to short for a bathroom trip. He'd gone out less than fourty seconds ago! Interesting... If he didn't go to the bathroom, then where did he go?

_Framed for murder, a famous detective and a mysterious kid that wears a 'mask' half the time, _Kaito thought. _This just got a whole lot more interesting._

***hides under table* Please don't hurt me! I tried, I really did!**

**Please review!**


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